LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chill (www.chill.com),
the Web’s premier video discovery portal, today launched the
entertainment industry’s first turnkey platform for artists to produce,
own and distribute content directly to their fans, dubbed “Chill
Direct.” The self-service platform is the first of its kind and makes it
dead simple for artists to globally distribute premium video to all
desktop, mobile and Internet connected televisions.

“We see massive potential for Chill Direct to create new market
opportunities for artists to directly distribute and premiere content
straight to their fans”

Chill Direct is a fully socially integrated platform that allows any
filmmaker, comedian, musician, or artist to directly release premium
video to the fans who love them. Building on the success of content
creators who have made specials and albums directly available to
audiences for personal download, Chill Direct expands on this emergent
model, empowering artists to engage their fan bases and build full-scale
customizable community hubs where fans and artists can interact.

Unlike releasing content through app stores, music stores, a broadcast
network or film studio, Chill Direct imbues artists with creative
control and flexibility over their material and allows them full
ownership of Intellectual Property. Chill Direct also helps artists
build powerful social communities around their work through integration
with Facebook and Twitter and world-class page creation tools.

MARIA BAMFORD: THE SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL! – On-sale Nov. 29
(exclusively on Chill)Hour-long comedy special written by and
starring comedian Maria Bamford and produced by Chill. Executive
Producers: Maria Bamford, Bruce Smith, Marc Hustvedt, Brian Norgard
and Jesse Albert.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE – Pre-order Nov. 29; On-sale early 2013
(exclusively on Chill)Documentary film about following the
lives of several top YouTube stars including Hannah Hart, Mitchell
Davis, Grace Helbig, MysteryGuitarMan, Dan Brown, SeaNanners and more,
directed by Dan Dobi.

THANK YOU FOR JUDGING – On-sale Nov. 29 (exclusively on Chill)Documentary
feature film from actor-director Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Partners)
about the world of competitive high school forensic speech and debate.

THE NEW KIND – Pre-order the first episode Nov. 29; On-sale
Dec. 7 (exclusively on Chill)Anime inspired sci-fi series set
in our near future where a young couple’s psychic love holds the key
to our evolutionary transformation. Over 200 artists from 29 different
countries have collaborated to construct Writer/Director Peter
Hyoguchi’s vision of this post-economic collapse world.

BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND – Pre-order Nov. 29; On-sale early 2013
(exclusively on Chill)Documentary feature film about
America’s homeless veterans and those suffering from PTSD. Directed
and produced by Fran Strine. Co-produced by Aaron Lewis, front man of
rock band Staind and narrated by legendary Megadeth bassist, David
Ellefson.

“Chill is a critical step towards an ecosystem where artists are finally
in control of their creative destiny. For filmmakers, comedians and
musicians it will soon become essential to be able to distribute their
best work directly to fans,” said Chill Co-Founder Brian Norgard. “We’re
going to make it easy for anyone with a creative vision to distribute
their work to millions of people. Amazing work should have no
boundaries.”

To maximize sales, revenue and engagement with audiences, Chill Direct
also features the most real-time, back-end analytics platform available
in the marketplace. Artist are given a real-time look at who their
customers are, where they are coming from and what’s impacting sales.

“We see massive potential for Chill Direct to create new market
opportunities for artists to directly distribute and premiere content
straight to their fans,” said Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner,
Chi-Hua Chien. “Chill Direct is poised to change the digital content
market in ways artists never before thought possible.”

Video on the service is viewable on multiple devices including iOS,
Android, Windows 8, PC, Mac, etc. For more information, to browse all of
Chill Direct’s content or to create your own content destination, please
visit www.Chill.com/Store.

About Chill

Chill is the premier video discovery portal with more than 20M unique
users every month, combining viral content with premier access for
artists to distribute first-release content direct to fans. Based in Los
Angeles, CA, the company is backed by venture funding from William
Morris Endeavor (WME), Kleiner, 500 Startups, Redpoint Ventures,
Crunchfund, Science Media, Troy Carter and Atlas Venture. Chill is
founded by Brian Norgard and Daniel Gould.